Feyli Kurd icon Barzo: A life of Iraqi resistance
Born on July 1, 1923, on King Ghazi Street (now al-Kifah), Barzo came from a Feyli family that had migrated from Ilam, Iran, seeking security and stability. He began his education in Kuttabs (traditional Islamic schools), but his nationalist awareness was awakened by his cousin, intellectual Mohammad Khosrow. Immersed in Arabic and Persian writings on history and identity, Barzo's political consciousness took root early.
In the 1940s, he joined the Hiwa (Hope) Party. When security crackdowns intensified, he fled to Iran, only to return in secret to Baghdad, where he discreetly organized within the Feyli community. As an accountant in Shorja market, Barzo quietly mobilized support among merchants and craftsmen for the Kurdish cause.
A turning point came on August 16, 1946, when Barzo helped found the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), a leading party in the Kurdistan Region, in a clandestine meeting in Baghdad's Abu Sifain neighborhood. Inspired by the Mahabad Republic, the group gathered in two adjacent rented houses to avoid detection. His role in this milestone placed him at the center of the modern Kurdish political movement.
Barzo's activism extended beyond politics. He co-founded the Grand Feyli Mosque in Bab al-Sheikh and led the Feyli Sports Club, blending civic empowerment with cultural organizing. These efforts, however, drew hostility from rival groups, particularly Communist Party sympathizers.
In 1952, the Kurdish activist and young Jalal Talabani were assigned to rebuild KDP youth cells among Feyli Kurds. During the 1961 Kurdish uprising, Barzo sheltered party secretary Ibrahim Ahmad in his Baghdad home before helping him escape to Kurdistan. After a renewed crackdown in 1963, Barzo vanished into the mountains, taking an administrative post in Penjwen, where he coordinated services for residents.
By the late 1960s, his activism crossed borders. He allied with Iranian opposition leader General Teymur Bakhtiar and became a vocal critic of the Shah. Through Al-Tariq newspaper and multilingual broadcasts, Barzo denounced Tehran's repression of minorities and exposed the brutality of SAVAK, the Shah's intelligence agency.
Publishing in Kurdish, Persian, Arabic, and Azeri, he became a rare voice bridging ideological and ethnic lines. His criticism of the 1969 deportations of Feyli Kurds enraged both SAVAK and Iraq's Baath regime.
Despite mounting threats, Barzo refused exile. On July 22, 1973, he was shot near al-Wathba Street, close to his boyhood home. His body was left in the street, with only 600 fils (less than a dollar) in his pocket.
Kurdish movements condemned the murder as a 'political execution.' But among Feyli Kurds, Barzo came to symbolize more than martyrdom—he stood for principled defiance. He rejected privilege, stood with students, workers, and tradespeople, and poured his life and livelihood into a cause that never fully recognized him.
Muhammad Hassan Barzo represented a generation of Feyli Kurds who fought on two fronts: asserting their presence in Baghdad and resisting authoritarianism at home and abroad. Though he never lived to see the fruits of his struggle, his convictions and sacrifice remain etched in Kurdish collective memory.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Shafaq News
4 hours ago
- Shafaq News
Trump poised for Gaza deal during Netanyahu visit
Shafaq News – Middle East Israeli officials said Thursday that US President Donald Trump could announce a proposed prisoner exchange deal with Hamas during his upcoming meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington next week. According to anonymous officials cited by a Hebrew newspaper, Hamas has not yet formally accepted the American proposal, but its response could open the door to 'direct or close-range negotiations.' They added that Trump is exerting pressure on Qatar, Hamas's key backer, to push the group toward acceptance — even if a final agreement is not immediately reached. 'The deal is making progress,' one Israeli official said, though he acknowledged obstacles remain, particularly concerning the list of Palestinian detainees that Hamas wants released. 'Hamas will continue to fight over the names — what is referred to as the 'keys' — as is customary in such negotiations,' he added. In parallel, six members of the Israeli Knesset from the ruling coalition — including lawmakers from Netanyahu's Likud party — sent a letter to the prime minister and his cabinet urging a complete defeat of Hamas and the imposition of full Israeli sovereignty over Gaza. The lawmakers warned that any deal that does not include the total dismantling of Hamas poses an 'existential threat to Israel.' They stressed they would 'not approve any solution that does not amount to a decisive victory,' signaling strong opposition to ceasefire or interim arrangements. Despite this internal dissent, government officials close to Netanyahu said the prime minister remains determined to secure a deal at any cost, viewing the current political moment as 'rare and historic.' In closed-door discussions, Netanyahu reportedly said, 'We now have fantastic political opportunities that come only once in a generation.' According to the source, these statements reflect Netanyahu's growing inclination to end the war in Gaza entirely, rather than resume military operations — especially as regional talks appear to be gaining momentum. There is increasing speculation about a broader set of regional deals involving Saudi Arabia, Syria, and possibly other countries.
Shafaq News
4 hours ago
- Shafaq News
Kurdistan accuses Baghdad of systematic discrimination
Shafaq News – Erbil A senior official in the Kurdish government (KRG) accused the federal government in Baghdad on Thursday of systematically stripping the Region's citizens of their basic rights over the past three years, describing the ongoing salary crisis as only one aspect of broader political and economic injustices. In a statement, the official said it was 'regrettable' that public sector salaries in Kurdistan had become a tool of political pressure. He characterized Baghdad's approach as a deliberate strategy of impoverishment and a flagrant violation of the Iraqi constitution, aimed at undermining the dignity of Kurdish citizens and deepening national divisions. The official cited figures to illustrate the shortfall in financial transfers. In 2023, the federal government sent only 4.698T IQD (about $3.5B) to the Region—representing just 28.5% of what was owed. In 2024, that figure rose to 10.026T IQD (about $7.6B), covering 47.9% of entitlements. So far in 2025, only 3.829T IQD (about $3B) have been received, which accounts for just 18.3% of the Region's 20.910T IQD (about $15.9B) entitlement. According to the KRG, no less than one trillion dinars should be transferred each month. However, the salary issue is only one part of what the official described as a larger pattern of federal discrimination. Since 2014, the KRG has been barred from hiring new public employees, while Baghdad added more than a million to the federal payroll in a single year. Despite multiple agreements to resume oil exports from the Kurdistan Region, Baghdad has continued to obstruct shipments, while allowing illegal oil flows to proceed elsewhere in the country. The Region's border crossings and internal revenues have also been targeted, with trade movements restricted and local economies undermined. Kurdistan-produced goods, both agricultural and industrial, are being blocked from export, and subject to customs tariffs the KRG deems illegal. The official added that the Region is being denied access to medical supplies and equipment, even though more than 40% of patients in its hospitals come from outside Kurdistan. Furthermore, Baghdad has reportedly excluded the Region from international loans and humanitarian assistance. Even visits by UN agencies and NGOs have been restricted. Salaries and support for the Kurdish Peshmerga forces—recognized as part of Iraq's national defense—have been cut. Aid for refugees and displaced persons within Kurdistan has also been blocked, as has access to assistance from global organizations. The official also noted discrimination in agricultural support policies, pointing to Baghdad's restrictions on wheat purchases from Kurdish farmers, even as it subsidizes growers elsewhere and imports wheat from abroad at significant cost. He concluded by calling for a 'brave national stance' to correct what he described as a dangerous imbalance. 'All Iraqis must respect the constitution and recognize the Kurdistan Region's rights as a federal entity,' he said. 'Kurdistanis must not be treated as second-class citizens. Weakening the Region does not strengthen Iraq—it weakens the entire country.'
Rudaw Net
7 hours ago
- Rudaw Net
President Barzani worked for years to facilitate Ankara-PKK peace process: Spox
Also in Kurdistan Explosive-laden drone intercepted near Erbil airport Duhok forest catches fire Explosive-laden drone crashes in Sulaimani province President Barzani, UNAMI chief discuss regional developments A+ A- ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani has worked since 2022 to pave the way for the ongoing peace talks between the Turkish government and the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), using diplomatic relations with the international community, his spokesperson told Rudaw on Thursday. 'What we see now has been ongoing for years. I can say that since 2022 and 2023, the President of the Kurdistan Region has been directly in contact through all doors and paths possible to him, sometimes not only with the two main parties in the conflict but through his diplomatic relations with the world and the international community to help them facilitate and pave the way for ending armed conflict in the region,' Dilshad Shahab, spokesperson for the Kurdistan Region Presidency, said. The role of President Barzani and other Kurdish officials in the nascent peace process is clear, with meetings between the Region's top officials, Turkish authorities, and mediators serving as testimony to this. The PKK announced its dissolution and an end to its four-decade armed struggle in May, in response to a February call by its jailed leader Abdullah Ocalan to end the conflict - which has claimed around 40,000 lives - and pursue a political and democratic path. While Turkey has welcomed the PKK's move, it has emphasized the need for the decision to materialize on the ground. Meanwhile, the PKK expects democratic reforms from Ankara as part of the process. Rudaw was first to report on Monday that the first group of PKK fighters is set to disarm in the Kurdistan Region this month. The disarmament process is expected to begin in the Kurdistan Region in the coming days, as the first practical step in implementing the PKK's decision to lay down arms and end its armed struggle against Turkey. Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin met with the Kurdistan Region's top officials, including President Barzani, in Erbil on Tuesday to discuss the peace process, according to Turkish state media. Shahab said Kalin's meeting with President Barzani 'mainly focused on the role of the [Kurdistan] Region in the peace process.' They also discussed 'all possibilities for the future of this process and the role the Kurdistan Region will play.' He added, 'Steps are heading toward a very good direction. There is great hope that practical steps… will be taken by the PKK. The Turkish state has a plan or program for its parliament to begin practical work.' Shahab also said that the process, which Turkey calls 'terror-free Turkey' has 'created great hope and we look to the future of this process with hope. It's worth an important note and we should pause on it that this is ultimately an internal matter of Turkey, but it's worth pausing for us and it's pleasing that both sides, especially the Turkish state, when an internal problem of a country that has long roots and causes many victims and bloodshed and creates much loss of life and material damage and create.' Saadi Ahmed Pira, a member of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan's (PUK) politburo, told Rudaw on Thursday that any peace agreements between Ankara and PKK will end the bombardment of Kurdistan Region and politically help Kurdish politicians in Turkey. A short-lived peace process between Turkey and the PKK in 2013 granted Kurds some rights that were previously seen as taboo, such as elective Kurdish courses at schools. Kurds have been culturally, politically, and economically repressed in Turkey for decades. Shahab said President Barzani played a key role in talks that led to the process at the time. 'Before 2010, when in the heat of tensions and complexities, violence, war, and the use of weapons, even then Mr. Nechirvan Barzani was in his efforts with both sides, directly and indirectly with PKK leaders and directly without hesitation with the Turkish state presidency through all channels possible to him, to pave the way for peace and take steps to end all this destruction, heartbreak, human sacrifice, and devastation created by war, the damages that have befallen the region,' the spokesperson said. Tuncer Bakirhan, co-chair of Turkey's pro-Kurdish Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), last month expressed his appreciation for President Barzani's "contributions to the peace process" between Ankara and the PKK. "He emphasized the importance of the President's continued role and support, now and in the future, as he had done in earlier stages, to help ensure the success of the process,' according to a statement from Barzani's office. The DEM Party, which mediates the talks between Ankara and the PKK, has sent delegations to President Barzani to discuss the process with him. President Barzani has repeatedly endorsed his support for the initiative. Bakhtiyar Qadir contributed to this article.
